Around a third of UK households rely on on-street parking, and most fast-charge home points will only be installed in residences with a driveway, garage, or other off-street parking facilities.

Jesse Norman, transport minister, said: “We are in the early stages of an electric revolution in the UK transport sector, and connectivity is at its heart.

“Millions of homes in the UK do not have off-street parking, so this funding is important to help local councils ensure that all their residents can take advantage of this revolution.”

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While electric car sales soared by almost 30 per cent last year – charging points have failed to increase at the same rate and the UK is in danger of missing EU targets.

There are currently around nine electric vehicles per plug in the UK.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, added: “Eight out of 10 drivers say that a lack of charging points is a reason why they will not currently buy an electric car, so the poor take up of these seemingly generous grants is disappointing.

“As the focus of the grant is for on-street parking, it would prove beneficial to those many residents without access to private driveways or other off-street parking.

“However, with local budgets already hamstrung and cuts to services being made, even the promise of funding for three quarters of the capital cost may still not be enough of an incentive for many councils to encourage applications.”